


All The Places You're Yet To Go

by P_i_z_z_a



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Past Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-02-10 15:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2030499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/P_i_z_z_a/pseuds/P_i_z_z_a
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in an AU where Kurt never went to McKinley.<br/>Kurt moves to New York shortly after graduation after Blaine cheats on him. He finds a paid internship at Vogue.com, but has nothing else in his life. At least until he meets Adam, the barista at his favourite coffee shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm finally catching up on season 4/5 of Glee and have decided that Adam is way too adorable and didn't get enough time on Glee. This must be rectified.

Kurt had always been lonely.

During high school, his father was almost ninety miles away in Lima while Kurt was at Westerville, and while they had a good relationship they were never really close. Dalton was accepting, but the only person Kurt ever truly bonded with during his four years there had been Blaine. Kurt had what he would consider close acquaintances in the Warblers, but he never really made any other friends.

It only took two weeks into the new school year, after Kurt had graduated, for Blaine to cheat on Kurt with Sebastian.

“You weren’t there!” Blaine had argued. “You were busy with community college and work. I needed someone.”

Which was bullshit, but Kurt didn’t even see the point in arguing.

So with no Blaine, and no future in Lima, Kurt dropped out of college, quit his job, sold his car and, with his father’s blessing, moved to New York.

“Just call me if you ever want a plane ticket home,” Burt had promised, and while Kurt nodded, and hugged his father, he knew he would never take him up on that.

There was nothing left for Kurt in Lima.

* * *

It only takes a week for Kurt to land a paid internship at Vogue.com, and to move from his sleazy motel to a barely-affordable, just-bigger-than-a-closet studio apartment in one of the safer parts of Bushwick. His only other option had been large enough to ride a bike or two in, but this way Kurt saves almost one hundred dollars a month in rent, and wouldn’t have an apartment that only amplified his loneliness with an abundance of space.

Things aren’t great, but for the first time in a long time they’re looking up.

With nothing else to do, Kurt throws himself into his work at Vogue.com. He was often the first one there in the mornings, and one of the last ones to leave. He only returned to his apartment to sleep and find a change of clothes. At least if he was working, Kurt reasoned, he was around people. No one questions Kurt’s absurdly strong work ethic, and Kurt just assumes no one had noticed.

But, Kurt knows what they say about assumptions.

“Did you even go home last night?” Isabelle asks one morning. Kurt jumps, and checks the time on his computer.

“It’s seven thirty in the morning. Why are you here so early?”

“You know, I could ask the same thing of you.” Isabelle takes a moment to study Kurt’s face. “Come with me. We’re getting coffee.” Kurt raises an eyebrow, but follows her obediently. 

Isabelle ignores the café at the bottom of their office in favour of one half a block away. “It’s worth the distance,” she promises. “Not just for the coffee, but for the eye candy as well.”

“It’s called Brewed Awakening,” Kurt says sardonically when he sees the sign, “are you sure it’s that great?” Isabelle chooses not to respond.

There’s already a line when they get to the café. Kurt goes to check the menu, but instead finds his gaze lingering on the blond working at the counter.

“Decided what you want yet?” Isabelle asks, then laughs when she sees Kurt staring at the barista. The baristas eyes dart towards the pair for just a split second, but it’s long enough for a blush to spread over Kurt’s face. It’s still there by the time they place their orders.

“Isabelle! So nice to see you! And who’s this lovely man?” the barista asks with a smile, and Kurt feels the heat across his face glow as he hears the British accent.

“This is Kurt,” she says, and Kurt smiles weakly. “He’s my new intern.”

“So nice to meet you,” Kurt says - or stammers, he isn’t sure which.

“You’re working him too hard!,” Adam exclaims. “He looks like he hasn’t slept for days.”

The pair continue to speak, but Kurt finds himself staring at Adam. Adam pretends not to notice, but does shoot a quick glance at Kurt. Kurt is fairly sure that his face is going to be permanently red once left. Isabelle orders for both of them, which Kurt is glad for. He isn’t sure he could form a coherent sentence right now. He reaches for his wallet to pay, but Isabelle stops him.

“It’s my treat,” she says while the barista is busy making their order. “You look like you need it,” she continues.

Adam hands them their orders, with a piece of biscotti on top of each of the cups. “And this is my treat,” he says with a flourish, still smiling, looking at Kurt rather than Isabelle. Kurt gives a small smile in return.

 

“Well?” Isabelle asks as she and Kurt walk back to their office. “What did you think?”

“Of the coffee? It’s good.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Isabelle says, but Kurt remains coy and doesn’t respond.

* * *

Kurt becomes a regular at Brewed Awakening, but soon discovers that Adam only works a few mornings a week. This discovery isn’t so much due to his regular appearance at the café, but rather due to the young redheaded woman who works full time and who notices Kurt continually looking for someone behind the counter. The coffee is good though, and between his long commute home and minimal sleep, he quickly finds that he needs it.

Kurt walks in early one afternoon, and is surprised to find that the café is empty and Adam is working.

“A coworker called in sick,” Adam explains in lieu of greeting when Kurt walks up to the counter.

“I-I wasn’t-”

“Yes you were,” Adam says, cutting him off. “Either you very much like coffee, or you’re intrigued by me, or both, judging by how often you’re in here according to my lovely coworker Sara.” Kurt raises an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, I’m not stalking you, I’m just astute. Though I do hope you’re in here so often for one of the last two options,” Adam adds.

Kurt isn’t sure how to respond, but it doesn’t matter as Adam makes his regular coffee without Kurt needing to talk. When he received his cup, there’s a piece of paper enclosed with it.

“It’s my number. I’m free after seven this Friday, but I know you work long hours, so don’t feel obligated.”

Kurt stammers out a thanks, and leaves the café feeling very confused but oddly light.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt is sitting at his desk, staring at the slip of paper Adam had given him when Isabelle walks past.

“Oooh. Is that what I think it is?”

“Um, maybe?” Kurt feels the familiar heat spread across his face.

“So when’s your date?”

“He gave me his number, that doesn’t mean he wants to date me…” Kurt trails off when he sees Isabelle’s Look.

“He gave you his number, Kurt. This might be hard to believe, but he wants to spend time with you.”

“It might not even be his real number!”

Isabelle sighs. “One day, we’re going to work through all your issues. Until then, you’re going to call him. The worst thing that could happen is that you need to find a new coffee shop.”

* * *

Kurt tried to call. Honestly, he did. More than once he found himself dialling in the numbers, before losing an internal argument and putting his phone away. 

_Adam didn’t like him like that_ , Kurt reasoned.

_It was just a joke._

_Isabelle put him up to it._

_I’m busy with work._

_He’s probably busy with work._

_I need to catch up on sleep._

Ad infinitum.

Friday night comes and goes, and Kurt never calls.

* * *

“Well hello stranger!”

That’s how Adam greets Kurt when he walks into Brewed Awakening just after the crack of dawn on Monday morning. The café is deserted, bar the pair and one older woman sitting alone in the corner who seems to be absorbed in a novel. Kurt doesn’t know how someone can be so cheery at such an early hour.

“Hi, Adam,” Kurt says weakly.

“The usual?” Adam asks, and Kurt breathes an internal sigh of relief. “You were busy Friday, I take it?”

_Damn._

“I-yeah, pretty busy.”

“Busy? Or just sitting at home and watching Netflix?” Adam teases as he bustles around making Kurt’s order. The statement startles Kurt, and he stammers for a moment as he tries to compose a reply. “Relax,” Adam says as he hands over the drink, “I’m just having a laugh.” Adam takes a moment to look at Kurt. “You know it’s okay to stay home if you don’t want to go out, right?”

Kurt pauses for a moment. This was something he had never really considered. Blaine had always been on the move with some idea of a song for the Warblers, or a superhero club, or some other idea that he inevitably dragged Kurt along with. The idea of doing nothing and that being okay had never occurred to Kurt before.

“Tell you what. Come with me to a bar tonight with some friends of mine, and you will be considered forgiven.” The words are serious, but Adam is cracking a grin.

“Okay,” Kurt says before he realises it, but he doesn’t regret it when Adam’s smile grows somehow larger.

“Great! I’ll meet you in front of your office at five. If you’re not there, I’m finding Isabelle.” Adam’s tone is purely joking, but Kurt thinks he might actually be serious.

“I...I’ll see you at five then.”

* * *

It’s 5:02PM when Isabelle walks up to Kurt’s desk.

“You’re late,” she announces. “There’s nothing here that can’t wait until tomorrow. Go.”

Adam is waiting in the foyer, and he grins when he sees Kurt.

“Well fancy seeing you here,” he says broadly. Kurt rolls his eyes, but he can’t help but give a small smile.

The bar they go to is called Callbacks. Adam, as it turns out, is an acting major with a musical theatre minor at the New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts, and he tells Kurt that the bar is popular with NYADA students.

“Though I have to admit, I do have ulterior motives for bringing you here.”

“Oh?’

“Isabelle tells me that you used to sing.”

Kurt pales. “Not well. I was only in show choir in high school, and I never had a solo or anything. My ex was the singer in our relationship. I just...swayed in the background.”

“I don’t believe you,” Adam says, with an emphasis that left no room for disagreement. “I bet you have a gorgeous voice,” he adds when Kurt doesn’t look convinced.

“I don’t know…” Kurt trails off.

“Adam!” The pair’s discussion is interrupted as a short blonde girl with surprisingly vertical hair runs up to them.

“Abby!” Adam exclaims as he scoops the girl into a hug, and there’s a pang in Kurt’s chest as he sees how comfortable Abby and Adam are with each other. It doesn’t pass, even when the pair stop hugging and turn to face Kurt.

“So is this the boy you were telling me about?” Abby asks, and Kurt swears he sees the faintest hint of a blush appear on Adam’s face.

“Abby, this is Kurt. I’m trying to convince him to sing tonight.”

“You have to sing! It’s tradition!” Abby stares at Kurt with puppydog eyes. Adam joins her.

“Fine,” Kurt relents. “I’ll sing.”

“Yay!” Adam says, and Abby starts clapping.

Not for the first time, Kurt wonders if he’s dreaming.

* * *

Kurt wasn’t sure why he was so reluctant to perform. Singing was one of the few things Kurt truly enjoyed, and he’d performed in front of crowds plenty of times with the Warblers.

_But you’ve never had a solo outside of your shower._

That didn’t mean he wasn’t talented enough for a solo. No one but Blaine received solos in the Warblers.

_You’re performing in front of NYADA students. They’re basically professionals._

Kurt really hates his brain sometimes. Fortunately, his worried look doesn’t escape unnoticed.

“You will be _fantastic_ ,” Adam assures him. Kurt gives a small smile, and then Abby pushes him onto the stage.

Kurt is shaking slightly as he takes his position in front of the microphone, but he tried to ignore it. He doesn’t bother introducing himself. The piano starts, and there’s a look of recognition from the crowd, and that’s all Kurt needs.

_”Let me take you down”_

He sees Adam smiles in the crowd, but Kurt doesn’t think much of it. He’s beginning to think that smiling and happy is Adam’s default mode.

The first few lines come out weak, Kurt’s voice shaking slightly, but it strengthens shortly after, and by the time he hits the chorus, Kurt is in his element.

_”Living is easy with eyes closed  
Misunderstanding all you see  
It's getting hard to be someone  
But it all works out  
It doesn't matter much to me”_

The song ends with applause and Kurt all but collapses as he returns to his seat next to Adam. He’s still shaking from adrenaline.

“Kurt! That was amazing!” Adam claps an arm to Kurt’s back, and Kurt flinches. Adam raises an eyebrow, but before he can question it Abby runs up to the pair.

“Oh man that was great, you have to join the Apples! Adam, you have to buy the first round in celebration!” Abby exclaims, and Kurt isn’t even sure if she breathes as she says everything.

“The Apples?” Kurt asks.

“The show choir I run at NYADA. Abby’s right, you should join.”

“But I’m not a NYADA student,” Kurt points out.

“Pfft. Technicalities,” Abby says, waving her hand and everything. “C’mon Adam. Drinks!”

* * *

Kurt feels like he’s on top of the world for the rest of the night. He spends it talking, and dancing, and watching Adam and Abby perform, and he can’t remember the last time he had so much fun.

Kurt makes several discoveries that night. Firstly, he hates the taste of beer. No, scratch that. He _loathes_ it. That discovery is not surprising. Secondly, vodka is okay as long as it’s mixed. Thirdly, cocktails are delicious, but expensive. Finally, he is an absolute lightweight. 

“I think- I think I missed my train,” Kurt says, slurring slightly, perching on his stool and gripping onto the table in fear of falling off.

“More than likely. You’re not going to Bushwick on your own like this though,” Adam says. Kurt isn’t sure how Adam is still sober, Kurt _swears_ Adam drank more than him. “I have a fold-out couch in my dorm, you can sleep there,” Adam continues, and Kurt isn’t sure if he wants to argue, so he doesn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Strawberry Fields Forever, © Lennon-McCartney, 1967.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt doesn’t sleep.

Not like that. Adam is a perfect gentleman, and they’re in different beds so it would be difficult for anything to happen, logistically.

Instead he spends the night tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable, unable to stop the thoughts racing through his head, and eventually the sun rises and Adam wakes and Kurt is positive that he didn’t sleep at all. 

So of course the first question Adam asks is, “did you sleep okay?” and he asks it with genuine concern, turning over in his bed to face Kurt. “I know that’s not the most comfortable bed.”

“No, no, I slept just fine,” Kurt lies, and he doesn’t feel guilty for it when he sees the look of relief on Adam’s face.

Besides. Kurt is well acquainted with insomnia.

Adam feeds him, and they walk together to Brewed Awakening where Adam is on the opening shift. Adam pauses, and holds Kurt back before they walk through the front door.

“I don’t think my boss would appreciate me doing this when I’m on the clock,” Adam explains, as he leans in and kisses Kurt softly on the lips.

Kurt grins, and once Adam has walked inside and Kurt is sure he isn’t being watched, he pumps the air as if he were in The Breakfast Club.

* * *

Adam sends a few cute texts that day - nothing over the top, it makes Kurt’s heart skip when he checks his phone to find a message that consists only of _:)_.

And because Kurt is one smooth operator, he doesn’t reply.

* * *

It’s Wednesday, 5:00PM, and Isabelle is leaning over Kurt’s cubicle, with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes?” Kurt asks, not even looking up from his cubicle.

“Adam wants to know if you’re okay.”

Kurt pauses. All he can think is _I’m being broken up with through my boss_.

Well. Not broken up with. There was nothing to break.

“Also he’s waiting for you downstairs.”

At that, Kurt looks up at Isabelle. “But...work,” he says dumbly, and without enthusiasm.

“Will still be there tomorrow,” she reassures. “While I appreciate how hard you work, I don’t want you to burn out. You haven’t been looking well lately.”

“I won’t burn out!” Kurt argues. The work was interesting, more interesting than anything else in his life. 

Isabelle raises an eyebrow. “Downstairs. Go.”

Kurt doesn’t need to be told twice.

Adam grins as Kurt walks down the stairs, and pulls him into a hug.

“Where are we going?” Kurt asks as Adam takes his hand and leads him out of the building.

“It’s a surprise,” Adam says with a grin.

* * *

“You know, the surprise is ruined when there’s a sign that tells you where you are,” Kurt points out as they walk through the front door of the building, under the giant sign that reads _New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts_.

“NYADA isn’t the surprise. Now close your eyes.”

Kurt complies, and if he leans in a little too much to Adam’s touch as Adam leads him by the elbow, Adam is kind enough not to mention it.

Kurt is lead up a staircase, down a corridor and through too many turns to keep track of before they finally stop.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Kurt is facing a stage filled with people who look like they belong at a school for dramatic arts. They could pass for the Burger King Kids Club if they had somebody in a wheelchair. The girl from Callbacks is there. 

_The Apples_ , Kurt’s brain fills in. They remind him of the Glee club from his hometown who he saw at Regionals once or twice.

Adam takes his place on the stage, and they stand in silence for only a second before they start singing.

_L.A. face with the Oakland booty._

It takes Kurt a few moments to realise they’re singing Baby Got Back. The Jonathan Coulton version, not Sir Mix-A-Lot’s.

The dancing is adorable and a little bit dorky. Kurt tries not to think about the resemblance to Blaine. 

Besides. It was too different to the Warblers. They all looked like they were having fun.

_This is like a TV show_ , Kurt thinks. _Or movie. Maybe Pitch Perfect, but no one is as fabulous as Anna Kendrick._

By the end of the performance Kurt is close to tears, and he thinks it might not all be from laughing.

* * *

“So,” Adam asks, practically skipping as he walks Kurt to the subway station later that night. “Will you join us?”

Kurt doesn’t even pause before he nods. Adam grins in response, and pulls him into a hug. 

Kurt feels like it’s where he belongs.

* * *

That night, Kurt sleeps well for the first time in a long time. Too well, actually. He sleeps through his alarm for the first time since middle school. He feels horrible, but he’s also not sure if he had paid sick days, so he forces himself out of bed. Kurt contemplates breakfast before deciding he doesn’t have time. 

It doesn’t matter. He isn’t hungry.

Kurt makes it to the subway in record time, but _of course_ there’s a delay on the line, and of course this is one of the few places in the city that Kurt can’t get cell reception.

By the time Kurt finally gets to the office, he’s practically running.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he gasps as he bursts into Isabelle’s office. “I don’t know what happened, I set my alarm bu-”

“Kurt,” Isabelle interrupts. “It’s only 8:30. You don’t need to be in until 9. With the amount of extra hours you’ve put in you could take a week off and I couldn’t complain.”

Kurt pauses. “But I’m an intern?”

“Exactly. An intern. A _paid_ intern. Not a slave. You get sick days and everything. You should probably read your contact.”

_How is this place even real?_ Kurt wonders.

Isabelle takes a second to look at Kurt properly. “You haven’t had coffee yet. Get me one as well,” she says, forcing money into Kurt’s hand and pushing him out of her office.

Kurt walks in during the lull between the pre-work rush and the post-10:00AM meeting crowd, and so the café is reasonably empty.

“Kurt! And I was just about to call the police to report a missing person,” Adam teases from the counter. 

His coworker raises an eyebrow, then walks away, shaking her head, to clean the tables at the other end of the café. Kurt tries not to blush.

“I slept through my alarm,” Kurt says self-consciously once they’re alone.

“You probably needed the sleep,” Adam shrugs, a note of concern in his voice. “The usual?”

Kurt pauses for a moment before stuttering out, “plus Isabelle’s.” He thought he’d been hiding his insomnia.

“Your poker face needs work,” Adam says, but it doesn’t feel like a criticism. “Playing Coffee Boy this morning?”

“Isabelle either wants to play matchmaker, or is allergic to getting her own coffee.”

“Probably both,” Adam says. “Besides. You’re the intern. It’s just a nice way of saying Coffee Bitch.”

Kurt grins, and the two fall into easy conversation until Adam has to serve another customer.

* * *

The next day, Kurt wakes up feeling even worse. He contemplates going in, then remembers the contract he actually read the afternoon before.

_sick, in tomorrow_ is all Kurt manages to type to Isabelle before he falls asleep. He’s never been so thankful for autocorrect.

* * *

Kurt spends the next few days in a haze, only getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. He’s pretty sure he never sent a text Isabelle to tell her he wouldn’t be in, but he can’t summon the energy to care. 

Kurt wakes up at some point - Friday maybe? - to find Adam leaning over his bed. By this stage Kurt is feverish and shaking, so it takes him far too long to realise he isn’t dreaming.

“You need a doctor,” Adam announces.

“How did you-”

“Isabelle has your spare key.”

“I’m-”

“No you’re not.”

Which is how Kurt finds himself at an after-hours clinic in one of the shadier parts of New York at some three o’clock on a Saturday morning.

It was an experience, to say the least.

Adam waits with him, despite Kurt’s protests.

“I don’t want you walking home on your own,” Adam explains, looking pointedly the six-foot-three white man who is sitting in the corner, shaking and eyeing everyone suspiciously.

“You’re not that much of a threat,” Kurt points out, but any further arguments are interrupted by another wave of nausea. “I’ll be a minute,” Kurt gasps as he makes his way towards the bathroom, almost tripping over his own feet.

Okay. Maybe he did need a doctor.

When he comes back a few minutes later, Adam is speaking to a woman holding a clipboard. She gives a friendly smile and waves him on through. Adam pats him on the shoulder as Kurt stumbles past.

“I’ve talked to Adam,” she says once Kurt has sat down in her office and the door has been closed. “It sounds like you’ve got the flu. I take it you didn't have a flu shot this year?" Kurt shakes his head, but quickly stops when he feels lightheaded. "Have you been taking anything?”

“I didn’t think I was sick," Kurt says sheepishly.

“I can give you antiviral drugs, but you’ve already been sick for a few days so they won’t be very effective.”

“But it will help?”

The doctor nods.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay then,” she says, writing out a prescription. “If you aren’t feeling any better by Tuesday then come back in.” The doctor pauses, and looks back up at Kurt from her pad. “There’s one more thing. Adam thinks you might be depressed.”

Kurt blinks, feeling whiplashed by the sudden change. “I’m not depressed.”

“He said you’ve had trouble sleeping and eating for awhile now.”

“It’s New York,” Kurt shrugs. “No one sleeps.”

The doctor is kind enough not to roll her eyes. “When was the last time you felt interested or excited about something?”

“Tuesday,” Kurt replies pointedly.

“And before that?”

There’s a long silence. “I’m not suicidal and it’s not like I’ve been crying myself to sleep. How can I be depressed?” 

“You don’t need to be suicidal to be depressed, Kurt. But if you don’t treat it, you might find you become suicidal.”

Kurt thinks of his father, and of his mother’s funeral. “I couldn’t kill myself,” he says flatly.

“That’s good, but we need to make sure you don’t get to a stage where you become desperate. How many friends do you have, besides Adam.”

Kurt thinks for a few moments. He was friendly with people at Dalton, but they were Blaine’s friends, not his. He hasn’t spoken to any of them since they broke up.

“My boss?”

* * *

Kurt leaves with a prescription for Ambien and a referral to a psychologist who does affordable counselling for low income LGBT youth. There’s also a card with numbers for several different suicide hotlines. “Just in case,” the doctor had reassured.

* * *

Adam tries to make conversation as he walks Kurt home. Kurt doesn’t say a word.


End file.
